Page 44 of Sticks and Stones
“Okay, Corbin. Hang tight. Let me get you some things to wear.”
So he’d have some dignity.
Honestly, Gene wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Being in there was making him sick seeing Corbin like this. He was feeling rage as he wanted to punch something.
Mainly the person, or persons, who did this to a man they considered their brother.
Nah.
He wanted to kill them with his bare hands in the name of justice.
As he headed out, Ethan tried to soothe him.
“How bad are your injuries?” he asked. “Tell me, so we can be prepared to take care of you.”
Corbin closed his eyes, and said one word.
“Bad.”
Ethan needed to know.
“I see that your arm is broken. What else is broken?” he asked, wording it differently.
Corbin clung to Ethan’s hand like it was a lifeline. Honestly, he knew when he didn’t let Alice and John see him, that they’d go to the two men.
His mother was predictable if nothing.
“They broke a few ribs,” he said. “My cheekbone is fractured, and they dislocated my shoulder,” he whispered.
Ethan now had confirmation. It was more than one person, and that was a start for him. They were likely going to have to piece it together so they could get Corbin justice.
“How many of them were there?” he asked, his thumb moving up and down his pulse to soothe him.
Corbin closed his eyes not to remember, but to hide. The tears were coming.
He could feel them.
“I’ve got you, Corby. You’re safe now, and no one is going to hurt you. I promise.”
Hearing that, finally, he answered.
“Five,” he whispered. “There were five of them who did this to me. I tried to fight, but…”
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
No wonder he was in bad shape. There was no way Corbin could take on five bikers who were hellbent on hurting him.
Well, Gene and Ethan would level the playing field when they found out which five assholes had done this to him.
Yeah, they’d find them.
When Corbin opened his eyes, he stared into Ethan’s. In that moment, he wanted one more thing.
